Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott whistles from the sideline during the first half of the Lakers’ NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, March 6, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

But no matter how much he smiles and offers entertaining quotes, Young cannot camouflage an uncomfortable reality. Young remains on pace to finish with his worst season of his eight-year NBA career, hardly what the Lakers envisioned when they signed him last summer to a four-year, $21.5 million deal. He has averaged 13.4 points on a career-low 36.6 shooting percent clip, a mark that dipped in January (32.2 percent) and February (32.4 percent).

“He’s not having a good year,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said of Young. “He’d be the first to admit that this hasn’t been the year he expected.”

Young reported that trend caused plenty of Lakers fans to call him “Swagless P” on Twitter, an obvious insult to his self-given nickname “Swaggy P.”

“It’s like basketball is my girlfriend and she is mad at me,” said Young, who averaged a team-leading 17.9 points on a 44 percent clip last season under Mike D’Antoni. “I came to the house too late. She kicked me out. Then I fell down the stairs and hurt my leg.”

Young actually does hurt. He sat out of Friday’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum, marking the sixth consecutive game he’s missed because of continued swelling in his left knee.

“It’s getting better,” said Young, who plans to work out on Saturday for the first time since suffering the injury 1 1/2 weeks ago. “Hopefully I’ll return sometime this week.”

Will Young improve his shooting then?

Scott, who shot 48.2 percent in his 14-NBA career, including 11 with the Lakers, admitted feeling “surprised” about Young’s struggles. Scott observed Young has lacked both confidence and great shot selection.

“He has to do a better job moving without the ball. It can’t be catch, then 18 dribbles and then he gets a shot,” Scott said. “When he does it that way, there’s one of two things. It’s a home run or a strikeout.”

A reporter joked Babe Ruth thrived under those circumstances.

“Babe Ruth was probably one of the best players in baseball history,” Scott said. “Nick thinks he’s up there with Reggie Miller and Larry Bird from a shooting standpoint. But if you look at their shooting percentage and you look at his, he’s not there.”

The difference in shooting percentages between Young (42.3), Miller (47.1) and Bird (49.6) are striking. When informed about Scott’s criticism, Young joked, “I got no take. That’s the coach.”

Young then turned serious.

“I’ll always have confidence. It’s just my first time I’ve been on a stage like this and having a funk,” Young said. “The more I hear about missing shots, the more I’m trying to get back into it too quickly. I just got to let it come to me more.”

Mark Medina has been the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News since 2012. He also works as a Lakers insider for AM570 and is heard on national radio outlets, including The Dan Patrick Show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Chris Mannix Show, Fox Sports Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Yahoo! Sports Radio and SB Nation Radio. Medina also appears frequently on Spectrum SportsNet and NBC4's "Going Roggin."